Pratt Industries Chairman Anthony Pratt (right) is welcomed by Staten Island Borough President James Oddo in announcing the program
Corrugated packaging producer Pratt Industries has announced that it will lead a unique coalition of government, private sector, trade association, and non-profit participants to increase recycling rates and environmental awareness among students and teachers in dozens of New York City schools on Staten Island.
Pratt chairman Anthony Pratt joined local leaders including Staten Island Borough President James S. Oddo in releasing details of the program, which for the first time will introduce a detailed anti-littering, pro-recycling curriculum across schools on Staten Island. The goal is eventually to reach more than 20,000 students in the borough, where Pratt has paper mill, corrugating, and recycling facilities.
Pratt and the Borough President’s office spearheaded the program with the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries Inc. (ISRI), the national trade association representing the recycling industry. The curriculum was developed by ISRI with JASON Learning, a nonprofit organization and longtime partner of the National Geographic Society. JASON Learning was founded in 1989 by oceanographer Dr. Robert D. Ballard to inspire and educate children through real science and exploration. It also provides lesson plans and development programs for teachers and educators.
“This is a win-win for all those who call Staten Island home,” Pratt told students and educators in announcing the program at a local high school. ”Our company will take all the paper you collect under this initiative to our paper mill right here on Staten Island, where it will be made into new 100% recycled paper and then converted by us into brand new 100% recycled packaging, helping to deliver everything from your computers to tonight’s pizza.”
The syllabus will be introduced on a trial basis at 10 Staten Island schools over the next few weeks and then expanded borough-wide next school year to eventually include more than 35 of Staten Island’s public schools.
Borough President Oddo said that a key part of the curriculum would be an anti-litter component in an “effort to prevent the next generation of litterers, and the best way to do that is through education and increasing recycling rates.”
Staten Island is one of only three municipalities nationwide that ISRI is supporting for JASON Learning. The other pilot programs are being rolled out in Kalamazoo, MI and Baltimore, MD.
Pratt will cover costs and host the professional development of staff from participating schools at its Staten Island paper mill on June 4. The company will host school tours at the facility so that students can see first-hand how the paper recycling process works. The company also is donating recycling bins that have been placed in the participating schools.
Headquartered in Conyers, GA, Pratt Industries is America’s fifth largest corrugated packaging company and the world’s largest, privately-held 100% recycled paper and packaging company. Its other metro area locations are a display division in Totowa, NJ, and a specialty division for retail merchandising in Edison, NJ.
